37 Good Advice (1/2)

Despite our victory over a unit many believed was the strongest in Great General Darah's army, I couldn't join in on the revelry of my team. I just wasn't in a celebratory mood.

However, as I didn't want to be the lone party pooper, I got up from the bench and turned eastward so I could walk the outer field and brood without bothering anyone.

Aura didn't stop me. She must have known that I needed some space.

I couldn't really pinpoint what frustrated me more. That Ty and Arah hadn't spoken to me since the previous night or the fact that they were right and I was just being selfish—because I was. I wanted them far away from the Fayne not just to protect them but so they could protect my sanity too whenever I went home to Mudgard.

While I mulled things over, my feet had taken me far from the glowing lines of the field and deeper into the sea of grass. I stopped and closed my eyes so I could feel the cool wind on my face.

”Leprechaun for your thoughts?” a man's voice asked.

I opened my eyes and found Five-Thousand Man Commander Thors standing beside me.

”Sorry, I called to you but you were so lost in thought that you probably didn't hear me,” he said.

I stood to attention before asking, ”Sorry, sir... how can I help you?”

He chuckled. It was the first time I'd ever heard him not sound like a decorated military officer. He always seemed so stoic whenever I saw him standing beside Darah.

”Walk with me, Dean,” he said before making his way eastward.

I hurried to catch up to him as his strides were much longer than mine. Tall people were annoying like that. After some time, I asked him where we were going.

”Nowhere in particular... Sometimes I just need space to stretch my legs, you know?” he answered.

I nodded. I knew. Being the leader of a unit meant I couldn't really show anyone—not even Luca or Aura—any weaknesses. I didn't want them to think I couldn't handle my own troubles much less lead them on a battlefield.

”So... I noticed the frown on your face a mile away, Dean,” Commander Thors stretched his arms to the side like a man limbering up for a run. ”What's on your mind?”

”Nothing big, sir... just personal stuff,” I blurted. I liked Thors, but I wasn't sure I wanted him to know about my business.

”Ah, that's what my daughter says when she and her boyfriend fight,” Thors smiled as he gazed at the near distance. His face turned wistful.

”You have a daughter?” I asked.

Thors stopped walking. He pulled out a golden pocket watch from the pocket of his trousers. Then he opened its latch and showed me what was inside.

On one side of the case's interior was a timepiece whose two dials were stuck at twelve. On the opposite side was a picture of a short-haired blonde with features similar to the man standing beside me.

”This is Natalie. My pride and joy,” Thors beamed, and I could tell right away that he was one of those doting parents. ”She's beautiful isn't she?”

”Um, yeah,” I answered awkwardly. I wasn't sure how else to respond to this question.

Thors chuckled softly. ”Yeah, my girl's a real beauty. Won't lose to any fairy in her looks or brains.”

He cast a sidelong glance at me.

”Well, I guess you would have a different opinion,” he said. ”Is that why you're blue? You and Aurana have an argument?”

”What?! N-no!” I blurted. ”We're not fighting...”

I glanced back at his pocket watch. ”That's made of Leprechaun gold right? That's how you could bring your daughter's picture along...”

As I said this, I wondered why I hadn't thought about it first. It was a brilliant idea, encasing something in Leprechaun gold to bring it into the Fayne.

Thors nodded. Then he continued walking without waiting for me.

Once I'd caught up to him, he asked me a question. ”The general told me you made a pact with Aurana to save your brother Luca... is that true?”

”Yeah,” I answered after a while. ”I didn't want him to be alone in this place...”

Thors glanced back to the field that was tiny to us now.

”You and I are similar then...” he whispered. ”We both sacrificed ourselves to save the ones we love.”

”Um, is your daughter here in the Fayne?” I asked.

He shook his head. ”No, thank God... No...”

Thors sighed and I could visibly see his shoulders sag.

”Nat and her mom got into an accident a few years ago...” Thor revealed like he didn't mind me knowing his story. He glanced at me when he said, ”My wife died... but Nat... she was in a coma. Doctors didn't think she would ever wake up.”